Seaknuckle Week

Holy moly. It’s been the busiest week in Frederick Playlist history. Are you exhausted? We are. But enough about us. How about you. Did you dig Seaknuckle Week? That was a whole lot of Seaknuckle a whole lot of the time. Gotta love those dudes. Got. To. Love. Those. Dudes. We’ll be tagging along tomorrow night when they invade Cafe Nola for the digital release of their EP. In fact, we’ll be all around town this weekend, throwing up posters, handing out flyers and selling tickets to our Frederick Music Showcase (not just one week away!). If you see us, come say hi, buy a ticket (you’ll get drink discounts!), and punch us in the face if you’d like. Or not. Anyway. Moving on, there’s oh-so-much going down on this oh-so-very-romantic Valentine’s Day weekend. Fredericks Brown will be taking the Weinberg stage tonight and that’s most certainly worth a thought or six (plus it’s pay what you want!). Our dear friend Doug Alan Wilcox will be at the Hill Chapel this evening as well, so you should stop on by and say, “What’s up!” for us. Spyro Gyra will be hitting the Weinberg Center tomorrow (which, by the way, is Friday the 13th!). Ghost Pepper, who we Q&A-ed earlier this week, will be debuting a new keyboard player at Champion on Saturday night. And also, even though we don’t go through Sunday on this list, it should be noted that a really great band – Quiet Life – will be at Cafe Nola on Sunday. There’s the Southern Charm Band. There’s the Dan McGuire Band. There’s the legendary Buckwheat Zydeco over in Shepherdstown. There’s Hard Swimmin’ Fish. There’s a folk song circle. And, of course, there is Souls Of Danger. Because whose soul isn’t dangerous? It will be cold, but it will be festive. Come see us, grab a ticket, rock to some Seaknuckle and eat too much chocolate. T-minus one week until we head over to the Weinberg for the first-ever Frederick Music Showcase. It’s so close, we can taste it. Who says love is dead? Happy Valentine’s Day!

Holy moly, this thing is a lot of fun. Four songs, two of which don’t even get past the 2 1/2-minute mark. A complete running time of way less than 15 minutes. It’s fast. It’s groovy. It’s unapologetic. It’s abrasive. It’s inspiring. And it’s everything a great EP needs to be: quick and to the point.

Seaknuckle’s “Nailed It” is a tour de force through everything that’s great about post-indie-rock. Recorded over a weekend in Baltimore, the urgency here bleeds through each note as though it’s the last time these guys will ever be allowed to play music again. For a quick four-song introduction to the world, it’s hard to imagine a more assertive effort.

It starts with drummer Colin Shultzaberger’s thundering distorted drums as the infectious “Love” begins to take shape. Guitarists Joe Jalette and Jon Phelps bounce off each other with ease, one of whom provides a surf-rock riff throughout each refrain that winds between spastic drums with confidence and ease. When Phelps, who doubles as the quartet’s lead singer, insists that love is around him (with the help of some expertly placed gang vocals), his soft pitch sounds as though it’s the only comforting tone clashing with chaos all around him. By the time everyone starts chanting the song’s title as it wraps up, it’s impossible to stay seated.

That same formula grabs hold on the next track, perhaps “Nailed It”’s best moment, “It Won’t Last.” Led to the fire by Matt Dabson’s silky smooth bass noodling, the approach is more subtle, yet no less spastic. Once an electric guitar doubles over the low end and Shultzaberger’s laid back beat gains momentum, you can tell this simmering flame is ready to explode. And explode it does as Phelps asserts in his pouty shout, “’Cause all this fun, it won’t last, it won’t last,” a blaze of electricity dominating the scenery.

Two things then go on to seal the deal of greatness: 1) the syncopated high-pitched “whooo-hooo-hooo-hooos” that split choruses and feel more like a taunt than anything. And 2) the cut-time chorus out of the bridge, a formula that was at one point made popular by bands like New Found Glory. Seaknuckle are their own breed, however, and the respite from the aggression here feels like sinking into a warm bath after a blistering cold day. It’s a perfectly placed piece of pop from Shultzaberger and not only does it keep things interesting, but it also proves that these four guys aren’t thoughtlessly piecing together guitar chords and percussive grooves. Instead, their devils lie in the details.

The only real slip up comes in the form of “Echilon Machine.” Part of Seaknuckle’s appeal is their ignorantly acerbic approach to songwriting. It’s in your face. And they don’t care. On the EP’s finale, however, the quartet slows it down with mixed results. Phelps’ croon still holds serve throughout, and the sparse guitars are smartly placed in and out of what’s supposed to be groovy verses, but there’s a sloppiness to the performance that brings the competence level down a notch. It would be easy to blame Shultzaberger for a few kick drum mis-hits, but the truth is that the song as a whole simply feels out of place next to its much more entertaining and much more biting brothers. This band can do a lot of things well. Slowing it down in favor of a more of a radio-rock feel is something that still needs work.

Any shortcomings are immediately forgiven, though, when you take “Dodecahedron” into consideration. Assuming their position right back in front of your face, the song is the best example of how self-aware these guys are as Phelps turns a longing tale on its head by eventually exclaiming “This is a disco beat,” right before — you guessed it — a disco beat kicks in. It’s a minor flash of genius that should make any listener a believer, if only for how blatantly fun and absurd it is. Coming out of a salsa-themed back-beat that carries the verses, you feel like you don’t need to know a thing more about any of the guys in this band to know exactly what they might be aiming for.

And what they were aiming for with “Nailed It” appears to be simple: a take-no-prisoners eruption of fun and song craft and ability and wit. Or, more directly, a set of songs that could be the soundtrack to an all-around great night. You can waste days roaming the streets of Frederick for a band that will give you a more mischievously enjoyable time listening to their music. Nobody will come as close as Seaknuckle sounds here.

“Nailed it” is only the beginning.

*** 3 1/2 STARS OUT OF 4 ***

Seaknuckle: ‘Nailed It’ was last modified: February 12th, 2015 by Colin McGuire

We begin to wind Seaknuckle Week down with this video of the great Colin Shultzaberger recording drums for a track on the band’s upcoming LP (and by “upcoming,” we mean, “sometime before we die,” of course). We’ll be back in a little bit with a review of their EP, “Nailed It,” but for now, carve out three minutes and watch this man work.

Video Of The Day: Seaknuckle In The Studio was last modified: February 12th, 2015 by Colin McGuire

Note: The following is part three of a three part series that is part of Seaknuckle Week here at Frederick Playlist. All three parts will run in this week’s 72 Hours as one single story, though Frederick Playlist is the only place you can find all the videos to accompany the writing. We will be publishing two videos with each post. Today’s videos feature the band running through pre-production on one of their songs. They will be holding an EP digital release party on Friday at Cafe Nola and we will also be there as part of our effort to spread the word about our upcoming Frederick Music Showcase. For now, though, behold part three of our three-part series chronicling a day in the life of Seaknuckle.

It’s almost 5 p.m. and Seaknuckle have turned their attention to the second song of the day, “Little Animals.” Shultzaberger is navigating his way through the complex and aggressive groove that’s as angular as it is quick. He liked the first take, but he wants to keep at it, performing the song five, six, seven times with hopes of taking what they like the most from each performance and pasting it together for an end product.

Phelps, for his part, has faded. Sprawled out across Vlachos’ bed, he looks like he just returned home from a 48-hour party and fell face-first onto the first mattress he saw (which, all things considered, might not even be entirely untrue in this instance). No more than 10 minutes pass before that lifeless body has somehow fallen to the floor, face down, unconscious, without anyone even noticing.

As he’s resting, it’s hard not to be reminded of something he said earlier in the day. When we speak, he is unemployed with hopes of landing a job at a greenhouse. Jalette works for Anthony Owens Remodeling and Repair. Shultzaberger picks up bookkeeping work for his girlfriend’s business, Offbeat Threads, in the winter, though he also works at Upward Enterprises, helping out with team building exercises on ropes courses. And Dabson, pink Macho Man shirt and all, works overnight at the Washington County ARC.

Back when he was still able to stand, Phelps was outside with Dabson and Jalette, discussing his goals for the band.

“Social media is an integral part of making it,” he opines, stretching his voice to emphasize his next phrase: “Which we fully intend on doing.”

There’s something so pure about the way he says it. It’s as though he has no choice. It’s easy to meet local musicians who spend their time promising how committed they are to their craft. Each one wants to make it a full-time job. Each one is willing to do whatever it takes to get there. Each one has a dream they want to achieve.

But Phelps? There’s a hunger in his eyes that’s not common. In fact, it’s somewhat unsettling to witness. To him, this music thing is non-negotiable. It’s do or don’t. It’s a means of survival. It’s his life, sure, and of course it’s his passion. But it’s also what he’s good at. Actually, it’s probably what he’s best at. In theory, he could go work in a greenhouse for the next 50 years, but there’s something behind those glasses that suggests precisely how impractical that would be for a guy like him.

“Bands around here go nowhere because they don’t know how to do it,” he said hours before he wound up on the carpet. “And neither do we. We don’t know how to do it.

“But,” he adds with measure. “We’re learning.”

And almost on cue, as that thought flashes through my brain, I hear a collapse. Jalette, who was sitting on one of Vlachos’ parents’ deck chairs, crashes through the apparatus, its legs giving out from underneath him and dropping his entire body onto the snow-filled grass. Vlachos’ mother races out to see what happened and check if Jalette is OK.

He laughs a laugh that would make Seth Rogen blush before leaning back into his now-broken recliner.

“I don’t even know what just happened.”

A Day In The Studio With Seaknuckle (Part 3) was last modified: February 11th, 2015 by Colin McGuire

This is the only photo anybody ever really needs to see when they want to know about what it’s like to spend a day in the studio with Seaknuckle. Behold lead singer Jon Phelps, filled to the brim with PBR, Combos and 7-Eleven pizza, laying down on the floor after initially taking refuge on the bed. At least he looks comfortable, right? We’ll be back this afternoon with our final installment of our Seaknuckleseries. T-minus 48 hours until they rock Cafe Nola’s Converse off.

Photo Of The Day: Seaknuckle In The Studio was last modified: February 11th, 2015 by Colin McGuire

Note: The following is part two of a three part series that is part of Seaknuckle Week here at Frederick Playlist. All three parts will run in this week’s 72 Hours as one single story, though Frederick Playlist is the only place you can find all the videos to accompany the writing. We will be publishing two videos with each post. Today’s videos feature guitarist Jon Phelps recording a scratch track on one of their songs (above), as well as the band explaining why you should go to their digital EP release party Friday at Cafe Nola. (below). We will also be at Cafe Nola as part of our effort to spread the word about our upcoming Frederick Music Showcase. For now, though, behold part two of our three-part series chronicling a day in the life of Seaknuckle.

It began in late 2013. Phelps and guitarist Joe Jalette have been friends for years, each learning how to play their instrument from the other. Shultzaberger and Dabson eventually found their way to the duo via other local bands that achieved varying levels of success. The former played with such Frederick acts as Silent Old Mtns., Heavy Lights, The Marylanders and Katie Powderly, while the latter describes some of his former projects as the “worst bands ever.”

Their first show was at the MET on New Year’s Eve in 2013. Later in 2014, they released a four-song EP, “Nailed It,” that was cut during a weekend in Baltimore at Mobtown Studios. They’ll mark the digital release of the EP Friday with a show at Cafe Nola.

“It’s our fault,” Jalette admits when asked about the difference between a record-release event and the upcoming event at Nola. “The EP has been out for a while now, so it’s not really a release party. But we wanted to get it on iTunes and Spotify and all that, send it to blogs and contact critics.”

“Yeah,” Phelps interjects, peering through his thick-framed glasses. “We want to make sure they hate it.”

Yet even if “they” hate it, it won’t be for a lack of the band trying. Part of why Vlachos is so valuable to the current Seaknuckle equation is his ability to keep the band organized. So much so that he maps out social media schedules for each member (on this day, Jalette is supposed to tweet something from the band’s account at 1 p.m., while an Instagram video for later is said to be in the works).

Earning a degree from Drexel and currently working as a monitor for the Frederick Community College music lab, Vlachos is picky about who he works with. Ideally, he says he would like to produce only a handful of bands. Having known the Seaknuckle guys for a while, he insists there was something about the group that attracted him almost immediately.

“The most important thing is the songwriting,” he says. “If you don’t have a good songwriter in your band, you’re screwed. The thing about Seaknuckle is that not only do they have one good songwriter, they have two.”

And it’s at this moment, that you can hear one of those two good songwriters — Phelps — yell at one of his band members as pizza-flavored Combos shoot through the air. The trio of Dabson, Phelps and Jalette recently returned from a beer run and the bassist picked up a bag of the pretzel-encrusted snack. He invited everyone to dive in.

They did, and now what started as a Combo war has magically turned into a moment of camaraderie: Everyone wants to see how far away someone can stand while pitching the food into each other’s mouths. Feeling the wind of a Combo rip past him, Vlachos can’t help but laugh.

“We’re trying to be really self-sufficient,” he concludes, as the room erupts in cheer. Mercifully, a Combo landed in a mouth, and if only for a second, it appears as though the true goal of the day has nothing to do with tracking drums.

A Day In The Studio With Seaknuckle (Part 2) was last modified: February 10th, 2015 by Colin McGuire

We just keep on keepin’ on with Seaknuckle Week, as Mr. Belding – AKA The Big Bopper – would say on “Saved By The Bell.” Today’s video features the always charming Colin Shultzaberger, drummer for Seaknuckle, trying to balance himself on a ball while taking a break from tracking drums in the studio. Because what’s a Seaknuckle Week without videoing somebody trying to balance himself on a ball? Duh. We’ll be back later today with part two of our three-part series. Are you excited? We are.

Video Of The Day: Seaknuckle In The Studio was last modified: February 10th, 2015 by Colin McGuire

Note: The following is part one of a three part series that is part of Seaknuckle Week here at Frederick Playlist. All three parts will run in this week’s 72 Hours as one single story, though Frederick Playlist is the only place you can find all the videos to accompany the writing. We will be publishing two videos with each post. Today’s videos feature the band running through pre-production on one of their songs (above), as well as the band’s collective opinion on the movie “American Sniper” (below). Seaknuckle will be performing at Cafe Nola on Friday to commemorate the digital release of their EP, “Nailed It.” We will also be there as part of our effort to spread the word about our upcoming Frederick Music Showcase. For now, though, behold part one of our three-part series chronicling a day in the life of Seaknuckle.

“Were you on the click the whole time?” Jonathan Phelps, the lead singer for Seaknuckle, asks his drummer, Colin Shultzaberger, as the final lingering notes of their song escape into silence.

“Almost,” Shultzaberger responds in his typical modest tone. “I lost it a little in the middle part.”

These are the kinds of exchanges the Frederick indie/post-rock quartet have more often than not these days. For months now, they’ve been reserving their weekends for work at Maryland Mix and Master, a basement studio in Monrovia run by Myles Vlachos, who himself has become the de facto fifth member of Seaknuckle, adding suggestions to their songs and helping guide them through the always-rigorous process of recording an album.

It’s barely noon, and the guys have a lofty goal for the day: track drums and bass for two songs. Before laying down the performances that will be heard on the record, however, the group repeatedly runs through whichever song they are about to record. They do it to get the tempos just right (hence the aforementioned click-track debate). They do it to make sure their instruments will sound exactly the way they are intended to sound. They do it to better their chance at achieving an impossibility: perfection.

And that’s odd, considering how part of the band’s genius is its imperfection. Spend a day with them and you’ll see why. Rarely is a breath wasted without an accompanying joke, a joke often hilariously inappropriate and unequivocally offbeat. By the time this final bit of pre-production for the day’s work comes around, Phelps estimates he’s cracking his fourth or fifth can of Pabst Blue Ribbon. Bassist Matt Dabson is donning the same type of hat Cousin Eddie wore in “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” all the while expressing his intense un-ironic lifelong passion for professional wrestling.

When I assume my position in a tiny hallway of the performance area as they rehearse, the following exchange occurs:

Phelps: “Would you like anything to drink?”

Me: “No, I’m good.”

Phelps: “Coffee?”

Me: “No, thanks.”

Phelps: “Water?”

Me: “Really, I’m OK.”

Phelps: “Poison?”

It’s a mindless, predictable quip, but it lands as solid as the drums Shultzaberger plays. The singer’s face is straight and nobody really laughs. The tone with which he speaks goes beyond deadpan, making me wonder if A) he might somehow own a vile of poison and B) he’s the kind of person who might actually try to poison me. In hindsight, it’s hilarious. In real time, it plays like a threat.

Still, it’s clear that there will be no time for poisoning anybody today. There is work to get done, and the bulk of the songs that will be on their album are almost completed. The home stretch for the recording process is within sight. Despite their ability to be seriously unserious, the vibe in the room is very much workmanlike.

Or, well, that is until a discussion about the album title breaks out.

“We don’t really know how to Instagram or anything like that,” Dabson explains between takes.

“Wait!” Phelps interrupts. “That’s what we can call the album: ‘Instant Grammy!’”

Everybody in the room laughs. A lot. And within seconds, you can hear the click track echo through the headphones, one last try at perfection creeping its way back into each band member’s ears.

A Day In The Studio With Seaknuckle (Part 1) was last modified: February 9th, 2015 by Colin McGuire

Come one, come all. Welcome, everybody, to Seaknuckle Week here at Frederick Playlist! Those guys will be at Cafe Nola on Friday, celebrating the digital release of their EP, “Nailed It,” and we recently spent a day in the studio with the band as they put the finishing touches on their first LP. We will be chronicling that day this week with exclusive photos, videos, and a three-part story focusing on their studio work, all the while leading up to Friday night when they take the Cafe Nola stage. In the above photo, the band is working on pre-production of one of their songs. Check back later today for another Frederick Playlist Presents … session, as well as the beginning of our three-part series on Seaknuckle! Happy Seaknuckle Week!

Photo Of The Day: Seaknuckle In The Studio was last modified: February 9th, 2015 by Colin McGuire